VSDSquadron Kit :  

Get lifetime access to RISC-V Programming and VLSI Chip Design industry grade educational content with the Kit

If you're interested in learning about RISC-V programming and VLSI Chip design, then you're in the right place! We are thrilled to announce the release of our brand new vsdsquadron board, which comes loaded with at least 10 GPIOs that are perfect for a wide range of projects. And that's not all – we're also including a collection of labs and theory modules that are designed to help you get started with RISC-V programming and design.

Our theory modules cover everything you need to know about RISC-V programming and design. You'll start with an introduction to RISC-V ISA and GNU compiler toolchain, learn about integer number representation and arithmetic operations, and even delve into topics like GLS, Synthesis-Simulation mismatch, and blocking/non-blocking statements. Additionally, our circuit design and SPICE simulations modules will teach you the basics of circuit design and SPICE simulations, as well as how to evaluate noise margin robustness and power supply variation robustness.

By pre-ordering now, you'll be one of the first to receive our vsdsquadron board and all the tools you need to start exploring RISC-V programming and VLSI chip design. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, our labs and theory modules will help you take your skills to the next level. So don't hesitate – place your pre-order today and join the vsdsquadron community!

Board: 

The vsdsquadron board comes with a minimum of 10 GPIOs, which makes it ideal for a diverse range of projects. The board specifications are provided here, and a USB cable is included for easy programming, allowing you to start your projects promptly. Additionally, a list of applications that can experiment with on the board are listed below.(Parts used for demo applications are not included in the Kit) 

1. Line Follower
2. 4-digit seven segment
3. Servo motor
4. IOT and home automation
5. And many more

Labs: 

Our labs are designed to help you get started with RISC-V programming, synthesis, physical design, and circuit design. We've included pre-compiled packages for all the tools you'll need, including software, PDKs, and more. We recommend using Ubuntu 20.04 or above for best results.

Theory:

We highly recommend using the precompiled tools provided above to run the courses. Using any other version could result in differences with the lecture video content.

• RISC-V Basics
• RTL Design and Synthesis
• Circuit design and SPICE simulations
• Physical Design

Modules Name	Chapters
VLSI Ed-Tech Introduction	The Big Picture-Need for RISC-V
Introduction to RISC-V ISA and GNU compiler toolchain	Introduction to RISC-V basic keywords
	Labwork for RISC-V software toolchain
	Integer number representation
Introduction to ABI and basic verification flow	Application Binary interface (ABI)
	Lab work using ABI function calls
	Basic verification flow using iverilog
Need for IP design	The Big Picture - IP design Specs to GDS flow
IP design Prerequsite - Basics of NMOS Drain current (Id) vs Drain-to-source Voltage (Vds)	Introduction to Circuit Design and SPICE simulations
	NMOS resistive region and saturation region of operation
	Introduction to SPICE
IP design Prerequsite - Velocity saturation and basics of CMOS inverter VTC	SPICE simulation for lower nodes and velocity saturation effect
	CMOS voltage transfer characteristics (VTC)
IP design Prerequsite - CMOS Switching threshold and dynamic simulations	Voltage transfer characteristics – SPICE simulations
	Static behavior evaluation – CMOS inverter robustness – Switching Threshold
IP design Prerequsite - CMOS Noise Margin robustness evaluation	Static behavior evaluation – CMOS inverter robustness – Noise margin
IP design Prerequsite - CMOS power supply and device variation robustness evaluation	Static behavior evaluation – CMOS inverter robustness – Power supply variation
	Static behavior evaluation – CMOS inverter robustness – Device variation
Analog IP design example	IP design example using ALIGN Opensource Tool for Analog Circuit Layout Synthesis
Introduction to Macros	The Big Picture - What are Macros?
Introduction to Verilog RTL design and Synthesis	Introduction to open-source simulator iverilog
	Labs using iverilog and gtkwave
	Labs using Yosys and Sky130 PDKs
	Labs using Yosys and Sky130 PDKs
Timing libs, hierarchical vs flat synthesis and efficient flop coding styles	Introduction to timing .libs
	Hierarchical vs Flat Synthesis
	Various Flop Coding Styles and optimization
Combinational and sequential optmizations	Introduction to optimizations
	Combinational logic optimizations
	Sequential logic optimizations
	Sequential optimzations for unused outputs
GLS, blocking vs non-blocking and Synthesis-Simulation mismatch	GLS, Synthesis-Simulation mismatch and Blocking/Non-blocking statements
	Labs on GLS and Synthesis-Simulation Mismatch
	Labs on synth-sim mismatch for blocking statement
Inception of open-source EDA, OpenLANE and Sky130 PDK	How to talk to computers
	SoC design and OpenLANE
	Get familiar to open-source EDA tools
Good floorplan vs bad floorplan and introduction to library cells	Chip Floor planning considerations
	Library Binding and Placement
	Cell design and characterization flows
	General timing characterization parameters
Design library cell using Magic Layout and ngspice characterization	Labs for CMOS inverter ngspice simulations
	Inception of Layout – CMOS fabrication process
	Sky130 Tech File Labs
Pre-layout timing analysis and importance of good clock tree	Timing modelling using delay tables
	Timing analysis with ideal clocks using openSTA
	Clock tree synthesis TritonCTS and signal integrity
	Timing analysis with real clocks using openSTA
Final steps for RTL2GDS using tritonRoute and openSTA	Routing and design rule check (DRC)
	Power Distribution Network and routing
	TritonRoute Features
Mixed Signal SoC Design and Full Chip RTL2GDS	The Big Picture - SoC Design
	Mixed-signal full chip SoC design and implementation
Project Work - Chip Testing planning	The Big Picture - vsdsquadron board planning and verification
	Caravel Chip Details
	RISC-V summary
	VSDSquadron firmware
	VSDSquadron FT232 and Flash Operation
	VSDSquadron Reset Flow and Boot Process
Project Work -Using “VSDSqaudron” development of  RISC-V application	Coming up

In summary, by ordering the VSDSquadron board you will grab an opportunity to start exploring Semiconductor career by learning RISC-V programming and VLSI chip design. 

Shipping Policies

• To ensure that your order reaches you in the fastest time and in good condition, we only ship via EMS Speed Post and ShipRocket.
• If you believe that the product is not in good condition, or if the packaging is tampered with or damaged, before accepting delivery of the goods, please refuse to take delivery of the package, and  Contact us (91-8548037643), mentioning your order reference number. We shall make our best efforts to ensure that a replacement delivery is made to you at the earliest.
• Please note all items will be shipped with an invoice mentioning the price, as per Indian Tax Regulations.

Canceling An Order:

• You can cancel your order before  __________.
• Also Order cancellation may attract 5% bank charges depending on the payment methods used by customer.(It is because most of payment gateway providers collect their Commision even though order cancelled and refunded.).
• Due to the nature of the products we are selling and our strict quality policy, we are unable to offer order cancellation and return without valid reason.

100% Refund/Replacement:

• We guarantee to provide accurate descriptions and high quality product as mentioned in the website. In order to protect customers from shipping damage, item mismatch or parts missing etc., we are providing 24 hours time (From the date of order delivery) to report the complaint by email at contactvsd@vlsisystemdesign.com
• Our technical team will verify the submitted details visually and will issue new Kit. Once we received the Kit our experts will verify the issue reported and will send the replacement items to the customer shipping cost prepaid by us.In case, we do not have the kit in stock to provide replacement, we will issue 100% refund.
• Furthermore, no warranty will apply if the Product has been subject to misuse, static discharge, neglect, accident, modification, or has been soldered or altered in any way.
• Due to the nature of the products we are selling and our strict quality policy, we are unable to offer order cancellation and return without valid reason.

Limits Of Responsibility:

We accept no responsibility for improper installation of our products. Electrical polarity must be properly observed in hooking up electrical components.

VSDSquadron was launched by  Prof.V.Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras in "RISC-V Roadshow on SHAKTI Ideology" and was also covered by Media on 27th April 2023